Italy was the first Western democracy to impose a country-wide lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite successfully curbing the number of infections in the first half of 2020, Italy saw its cases increase again in October, prompting Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and local governments to announce new restrictions to curb the cresting second wave. Despite the clear memory of the significant death toll and warnings of the dangerous winter to come, however, these announcements have been met with opposition. On the evening of the 23rd October, thousands gathered in the streets of Naples to protest against the forced closure of shops and restaurants and the threat of a local lockdown. A group of about 300 people—including youth, extremist political groups, and football hooligans—escalated into a violent protest, attacking police officers, burning cars, and vandalizing private …

‘After Years of Struggle, South Sudan Becomes a New Nation’, proclaimed a July 9, 2011 headline in The New York Times. Few headlines make such a claim nowadays. After all, the celebration of new nation is rare indeed. Yet little good news has followed. On assignment to mark the occasion, Alex Perry, a reporter with TIME Magazine found a country of discord not development. He titled his feature: ‘Born in Blood’. This month, five years after the shouts of “Freedom” from the Southern Sudanese, and discussing a young country still marred by genocide, corruption and a stubborn civil conflict, he opted for concision over candor: South Sudan is a ‘horrible disaster’, he wrote. Addressing a crowded lecture hall at the Oxford Martin School, Mr. Perry —whose award-winning …